A Qassam rocket fired by Palestinians in Gaza Tuesday morning landed in a factory located in the Shaar Hanegev industrial zone. A worker sustained light injuries from shrapnel and was evacuated to the Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon. The factory was slightly damaged.

A man who works in a nearby factory told Ynet, “Luckily we now have fortification, so as soon as the ‘Color Red’ siren was activated we ran to a fortified room.

“We heard a very loud blast that shook the factory, and when we went outside we saw that the rocket landed in the parking lot next to us, and Magen David Adom emergency crews and firefighters were already at the scene,” he said.

On Monday Defense Minister Amir Peretz told Ynet that the IDF is continuing to operate in the area “to gather intelligence and locate tunnels (dug by terrorists)”.

“I hope the Palestinians will not solve their internal conflicts by firing rockets toward Israel,” he said.

After a few days of relative calm in the western Negev, seven Qassams were fired toward Sderot and nearby communities on Monday. There were no reports of injuries or damage.

The Qassams were launched while children were making their way to schools and kindergartens. Due to the state of emergency in the area, the children are traveling in fortified buses.